Weekly roundup: Digital Trends
Zambia’s mobile subscriber base growth & opportunities for mobile money expansion
THE total number of active mobile network subscriptions in Zambia increased to 17.9 million by June 30, 2020, an all-time high, exceeding the country’s population at that time, according to the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA). This exponential growth has coincided with an explosion in mobile money usage, with numbers having leaped to over 8.6 million by the end of last year compared to around 4.85 million by the end of 2019.
Higher mobile money usage also coincided with increased financial inclusion over the two corresponding years where financial inclusion in the country increased by 10.1 percentage points last year. From the numbers, it is clear that Zambia has continued to make significant progress in the digital transformation agenda, especially in the area of digital financial services. The number of active MNO (Mobile Network Operators)-based mobile money users increased from 4,852,040 as at December 31, 2019, to 8,607,461 as at December 31, 2020, according to Bank of Zambia (BoZ) data, representing a 77% hike in uptake and usage.
But even with these impressive numbers, the fact that the total number of active mobile network subscriptions stood at 17.9 million subscriptions at the end of June, 2020, from 16.3 million one year prior, means that MNOs still have to tap into around 9.3 million estimated subscribers that do not have an active mobile money wallet account.
And although the growth in mobile network subscriptions represents an improvement in the mobile penetration rate, defined as the ratio of the total number of active subscriptions to the total population, from 93.8% recorded at the end of June, 2019 to 100.2% recorded at the end of June, 2020, this growth does not necessarily translate into faster financial inclusion.
Clearly, this data shows that improving financial literacy lies at the heart of efforts to get more Zambian mobile subscribers connected to digital finance, and MNOs still have work to do to sensitise consumers on the benefits of having an active mobile money wallet account to connect them to the digital economy.
